Patios, fences, walls, and retaining walls are used in various landscaping projects and are available in a wide variety of styles. Numerous methods and materials exist for the construction of patios, fences, walls and retaining walls. Such methods include the use of natural stone, poured concrete, precast panels, masonry, and landscape timbers or railroad ties.
In recent years, segmental concrete wall, patio and landscaping units, which may be laid, positioned or dry stacked without the use of mortar or other complex securing means, have become widely accepted in the construction of patios, fences, walls and retaining walls. Such patio, wall and landscaping units have gained popularity because they are mass produced and, consequently, relatively inexpensive. They are structurally sound, easy and relatively inexpensive to install, and couple the durability of concrete with the attractiveness of various architectural finishes.
In the manufacture of patio, wall and landscaping blocks and other kinds of blocks made from concrete, it is common to use a mold that forms a block module which is then split to form two or more blocks. Another method is wherein blocks are individually formed in a mold and the surfaces are textured by removal of the mold. Another known method of creating a block having an irregular or textured surface is to form the block in a mold box that has been provided with a sidewall liner shaped to impart the irregular or textured surface on the block during the block molding process.
In the construction of a patio, wall or fence the aesthetic design of the individual block units and the overall visually pleasing aesthetic appearance of the patio, wall or fence is very desirable. Blocks that have a desirable texture or pattern create an exposed surface of a patio, wall or fence that is visually appealing.
It would be desirable to provide a patio, wall or landscaping block with a multi-textured or patterned exposed surface for use in constructing a wall, retaining wall, fence, patio or the like. It would be further desirable to provide a block with a multi-textured pattern or textured surface that could create multiple desirable and aesthetic designs in an exposed surface of a patio, wall, fence or the like.
It would be desirable to provide a patio, wall or landscaping block having a chamfer on the sides and top of the front face of the block, to reduce the probability of sustaining damage to the block edges during manufacture, plant-handling, transportation and site installation handling. It would further be desirable that the sides and top of the front face of the wall block have an angled chamfer which creates block edges that are greater than 90° from a vertical plane formed from the sides and front of the block. The greater than 90° edges are harder to chip off or wear away during manufacture, plant-handling, transportation and site installation handling, and thereby minimize any damage to block edges.
It would be desirable to provide a system of multi-textured or patterned blocks for constructing a patio, wall or fence that combines the ease of installation of modern segmental wall blocks, patio blocks and landscaping blocks with the attractive appearance of an aesthetic design.
It would be desirable to provide a block system for constructing a wall, patio or fence that utilizes a block that has a multi-textured or patterned exposed surface that allows complex designs or patterns to be formed or created onto an exposed surface of the constructed wall, patio or fence such that the contrast and/or differences between a first pattern or texture and a second pattern or texture (and the differences between other additional patterns and textures as desired) would create the pattern or design onto the overall visually exposed surfaces of the wall, patio or fence. It would further be desirable to provide a block system for constructing a wall, patio or fence that utilizes a first block type that has a multi-textured or patterned exposed surface and a second block type that has a multi-textured or patterned exposed surface that would allow for more complex designs or patterns to be formed or created into an exposed surface of the constructed wall, patio or fence.